In this episode of Odejuma, Harry chats with Ashe Jaafaru, a performer and storyteller based in the Twin Cities. She shares her journey into theater, the influences that shaped her creative path, and the profound impact of performing in "Maybe You Could Love Me." Together, they discuss the vibrant Black and queer art scene in the Twin Cities area, focusing on themes of collaboration, community, and the therapeutic power of storytelling. Ashe also explains how art serves as both a sanctuary and a form of resistance, a space to process emotions, nurture connections, and celebrate our stories

This conversation serves as an inspiring reminder of how Black voices and stories continue to redefine contemporary theater, enriching our collective understanding of love, identity, and belonging.

For more about Ashe: https://www.instagram.com/ashejaafaru

For more information on Harry, visit: https://www.harryitie.com/

Hi, my name is Harry, and welcome to Odejuma.

Odejuma recognizes the magic of storytelling.

From personal experiences to stories of adventure, from tales of resilience to finding joy in the simple things, this story seeks to inspire, entertain, and educate.

Because there is power in the stories of everyday people.

And these stories are worth telling.

Hey, y'.

All.

Welcome to another episode of Odejuma.

I am so excited about my guest.

If you follow me on Instagram.

I went to see maybe youe Could Love Me and I raved about the show.

Cause I really enjoyed it.

And I have one of the stars, Ashe Jafaru, on the show today.

Hi, Ashe.

How you doing?

I'm well.

How you doing?

I feel really good.

I feel really good.

The weather is nice.

I thought it was gonna start getting cold, as in typical Minnesota fashion, but it seems pretty good.

So I'm doing pretty.

Pretty okay.

How about you?

I'm doing great.

I'm glad it did not try to turn on us like the weather always does here.

But it's been pretty warm and still feels very like summer, so I'm really appreciative.

But then the leaves are still crunchy, so I like that too.

Yeah, that's pretty cool.

Like I.

Like I was saying earlier, I saw you in maybe youe Could Love Me.

Pretty amazing play by theatre.

Moo.

Great, great storyline.

Very much needed story that was being told.

But before we dive into that, you know, I want the.

I want our listeners to get a peek into, to know who you are.

So could you give us a little bit of a background about who Ashley is?

Sure.

I mean, I think I'm pretty courageous in what I like to do.

I feel like I get really inspired by my friends and family when it comes to just making art.

I feel like those are the people that usually inspire me first or the most.

And it's been really.

It's been really fun just doing different projects relating to like film or stage or just people are writing things and they just want to make their own show.

It's been really great to just be involved in people's work.

And I think that's where I really come from as an artist of just working with people that I enjoy working with and people that inspire me.

I've always been really interested in performance, especially being a theater kid.

Person that just like, grew up watching plays and wanting to be on stage.

But maybe being like, really like, is this for me?

Can I do that?

Just being a little shy or a little scared about it.

But it is really fun.

It's Like a feeling.

You can't even like, compare it to anything else.

It's really, really fun.

It feels like flying to be on stage.

And that's why I'm just so excited to just be a part of super, super cool stories, new stories.

A story like maybe you could love me is super, super exciting and really brave and courageous.

Yeah.

And he talked about, you know, being a theater kid and, you know, that is where, yeah, the spark for theater came from.

Was there like any.

Was there anything that you saw when you were younger on the stage that made you be like, okay, this is.

This is what I want to do.

Was there like, was it a show you saw?

Was it a film you watched?

Anything at all?

It like, I grew up watching my dad's like, VHS that he would always just like, store.

He just had so many CDs and like VHS and things like that.

We went through like many eras of different actors and things like that.

Like, I feel like he had like a whole bunch of like Denzel movies and like he went through like Will Smith era, then likei Goldberg era.

So there was always like really cool standout people and people that actually have done theater too is just super cool to see what their backgrounds were.

But I remember seeing a lot of work with Shay Cage.

She's another really brilliant artist that works in town.

And she's also a director and an artistic director and she always made her own shows and like, she put up like a one woman show at the Guthrie one year.

And I remember just being like, so inspired by that of just like, okay, you just, you should use everything that you have just to make something and it doesn't matter like what the actual end story will be like.

It's just the journey of getting to this execution.

The story or something that's stuck in your imagination just can't wait to get out.

So I was always interested in people that did that.

And I would say one of Shay's Wonder Woman shows was really, really inspiring to me.

Super inspiring to this day.

Awesome.

Yeah, that's pretty cool.

And when did you decide that you wanted to take the leap into being an artist unprofessionally?

At what point did that happen for you?

I think probably about college.

Just knowing that you could actually like study the arts and just make a career out of it was really cool to me.

I was always really interested in like English and like, I was in AP English in high school, so that was always fun to just like read literature and text and like interpret and analyze text is something that I Enjoy.

And I think that's really connected to just what does it mean to do a lot of scene study or character development and think about what your character is motivated by when it comes to just acting in plays and things like that.

So I think it just starts from that just being like super curious about why people are doing what they're doing and see why you do the things you do too.

I know that you also worked on Bad Africans with Ibimi Na Dominique Thompson as like the director of that.

So what kind of stories are you drawn to as a storyteller?

Because I feel like it's very, from what I've witnessed, the little I've seen, it feels very purposeful.

But I want to hear in your own words, what kind of stories that you are, you are drawn to as a storyteller.

That's a good question.

I feel like I'm definitely drawn towards stories that are written by women, trans women.

Stories that are just super gorgeous and super courageous.

I think makes very funny stories.

And she's just a funny personality, a funny person.

If you ever get to meet her and just experience what she does on stage, she's just so fearless, very sad energy, just ready to be adventurous and push herself and her body.

And I think it's just really beautiful to see how she just makes stories from her past.

That was also a really beautiful example of somebody like growing up like their character like growing up on stage.

And she did a great job of just acting like an 8 year old, a teenager, then somebody in their 20s.

And I feel like that was such a great information just to see how you can do that in the body and be very physical and be very specific with like the way that you change your vocal tone, for example, and things like that.

Like she's very, very, really just really great at doing that.

And it's super, super inspiring, I would say.

Yeah.

Are there any works or stories that you're currently working on that you know, you're excited about right now?

I'm really excited to be super supportive towards stories that people have done.

Been really excited to be involved in like short film and helping with like creative directing and casting and things like that.

It's really fun to be on like the other end or more of like the producer end or you're just working with the producer of just like, okay, this is what absolutely needs to be accomplished in order for our integrity of the story to be intact or like to be feel successful.

Like we need this person on the team.

We need to make sure we're Using these motifs or using these color palettes, like, stuff like that is really fun for me.

And I got the beautiful opportunity of doing some, like, assistant directing and creative directing with my sister's short film that she just put out.

And we're super, super excited of just what it's going to turn out to be.

It's in post production, so now we're working with the editors.

We're trying to get all the sound.

Sound design down for what people are doing.

But it's a super, super cool film that was short, it was shot in north Minneapolis.

And I think it's really fun to see what stories are coming out of the Twin Cities.

All of our lore ideas are super cool.

So I'm super excited for that to come out.

Hopefully next year.

Hopefully next spring.

Awesome.

Awesome.

You talked about how there are, like, lots of cool stories coming out from the Twin Cities, and I feel like, yeah, it is pretty exciting to just see, I don't want to say a burst as people have always been here making and creating, but I think that I feel like.

Like, I feel like the stage has finally been set.

The people are beginning to see how talented and creative many black queer folks are here in this.

In the Twin Cities.

How do you feel about not just being a part of that movement, if I should say, but also just witnessing.

Witnessing it in all.

In all its glory.

You know, it's been fun.

I feel like everybody's in their bag and they're doing certain things that are super exciting.

Even, like people that are just activating space and creating more nightlife opportunities and things like that.

Like, I think that's always really exciting to see.

We have so many talented people and I think everybody is just ready to just see what's been inside of their heads for the longest.

You know, I think people are just super excited to put their ideas out there and they're super brave and courageous.

And so I'm.

I'm excited.

I think there's been really fun film fests that's been happening.

There's been fun like nightlife and dance events.

DJs are popping right now.

Like, the ballroom scene here is just super, super beautiful, inspiring.

So I just.

There's so many things to talk about and so many things people are doing artistically right now.

Okay, cool, Cool.

I was talking about maybe you could love me.

It just closed.

Yeah.

I wish that folks got a chance to see was such a beautiful play.

I really enjoyed it.

Had me.

There were lots of parallels.

Like I said, it's definitely not my full Experience.

But there are definitely ways where I can relate to the story as someone who grew up, like, very religious and who is also, you know, black and for me, migrant and queer and all these other things.

So tell me about maybe youe Could Love Me.

How did you get involved with that project and what was that experience like for you?

My goodness.

First of all, it was a life changing experience.

Like I'm still processing and literally close not too long ago, like just a couple days ago.

So it's still on me.

It's always going to be in me, in my heart.

Because I think it's just so special to just, first of all, work on a show where it's only two characters.

Like technically it's, it's.

It is demanding.

That was my first time ever doing anything like just two people on stage the whole time, barely leaving the stage.

I started the journey a year.

About a year ago.

I remember acting in the reading of the play.

It was just a stage reading at the time with just not all the lights and the sound and the production and all that kind of stuff.

It was just a stage reading.

It's part of the New Eyes Festival with Theater Mood that collabs with the Playwright Center.

And a lot of amazing, amazing stories and storytelling comes from the Playwright Center.

And people, playwrights get to just like workshop their work and then it gets put up or, you know, they take it where they want to take it or they just get more information after the workshop or the reading.

And so that's when I first met Samaritan.

And that's when I first met AD as a director, let's say.

And so that was super amazing.

And then like a year passed and they were ready to put the show up at Next Blood, which is an iconic stage for new work to always just.

It's just a beautiful breeding ground for new work.

And at first I was not going to audition.

I'm not even going to lie because I was just like, maybe I'm not the best fit for this show.

But I'm so happy I did.

I'm so happy I got to just be involved in such a beautiful play.

I'm just super proud of this production because I think it's super brave.

I don't think there's a story like this out there.

Been one in a while in Twin Cities.

I would say that's just like super courageous like this.

And doesn't.

Doesn't care.

Doesn't care how other people are thinking of it.

I think that's something that's super important.

About the themes of this play when it comes to just queerness and friendship and love and being able to be witnessed by someone.

So it's been a journey.

It's been a.

So it's just been a really, really cool journey just to see it from stage reading to now.

It's super cool.

Yeah.

And you said you will always carry it in your heart.

Can you talk a little bit about that?

What is it about the play that feels very personal to you?

I think it's just one of those things where you just have somebody that has known you for so long or like close friend that has known you for so long.

And literally you get to see only these two characters and you get to see how these people relate to each other.

And you don't really get to see anybody else kind of influencing how they behave or how they act around a certain person.

Like, it's think it's interesting to see how people behave around people that know them very well, Whether it's family members, whether it's relatives, things like that.

I can just really relate to that where you're just kind of like completely naked in front of your best friend.

Completely.

Your guard is down.

You're able to say those things.

Sometimes mean things, sometimes super funny things, but they have like, some sarcasm behind it or like mischief.

All of those things that like, come out of your mouth when you're talking to somebody that you know so well or like somebody that knows you well or don't.

And you realize, like, wow, they don't actually know me like that.

Or like, you know them like that.

That.

That kind of stuff is always so juicy to me.

So I just think it's so interesting to just watch two people and like, see kind of a tennis match back and forth of how people handle each other and like, handle their insecurities and the things that they don't want to show but somebody else might call them out on.

Those kind of things are so interesting.

Yeah.

I just love it so much.

That is.

That is.

That is beautiful.

The world is very interesting right now.

If I can be as undetailed as I can.

Okay.

Yeah.

We're living through very interesting times.

And I feel like for me personally, I've been able to find a lot of solace, a lot of comfort in the arts.

The arts has been my number one source of joy comfort this year in particular.

How has the arts been for you personally as you navigate this time?

And also, like, why is art important right now?

You know, what is it about art that makes it so powerful Right now for me to even say that, okay, this has been my comfort through this, you know, through these times.

Yeah.

I mean, I feel like so many arts activists over time have always said, like, artists are just.

They're usually at the center of all of these issues or just able to pay attention and absorb a lot of information of what's going on in the world and then interpret it in some kind of interesting way.

Or you think you truly do have to keep thinking and you do have to keep questioning.

You know, when things are changing, when the facts are changing, you should change your mind.

When things are happening in the world, what are you doing in your body?

How is it regulating or dysregulating your spirit?

I think artists are always having to face that and be super forward and upfront with their emotions and how they're feeling about things that being done to them.

So I think that is super fun to respond in an artistic way.

It's nice to have a medium or something that just lets you say what you need to say.

I think it can be very therapeutic to be on stage.

It's not therapy, but it is therapeutic to read the lines of the words you wish you could say to someone or say to the government, say, to the legislation that is happening in your city or state.

Like, I think it's interesting to do things in an artistic way.

Things from.

Things from trauma, things from your spirit.

I think people use a lot of their personal stories to interpret what is actually going on in their brains or what's going on in their mind.

And so other people will experience that and know that they can also be witnessed and have an example of their humanity being shown as well.

So I think that's also what art does.

You should usually see something and be like, this is recognizable.

Or something about this reminds me of this or that feeling that I had one time.

That's usually what people feel.

They leave a show, and so I think it's important to just watch something and witness and interpret what's happening in your.

It's just very.

It's almost like a very, like.

I don't know, it's like a spectator sport.

It's like something that you can consume and then also use and take with you, really.

And what is your favorite medium for having those conversations or interrogating those things that is happening in, you know, around you?

What is your.

A favorite medium?

And I know some.

A lot of artists like to choose.

Sometimes it's like, you know, I want to use all, but.

I want to use it all.

I Just want to use it all.

Honestly, to be honest, I love music, though.

I feel like it's.

I'm not even, like, a music artist necessarily, but I love consuming music, whether it's live band.

I'm excited to go to a concert tonight.

Like, it's just.

It's so easy to use your.

For me, at least, like, your sensory consumption.

It's auditory for me.

It just.

It just makes sense.

I'm just like, oh, and then my body wants to move and do this or whatever, or maybe I want to scream or something.

Like, it's just a great way to access your imagination with those auditory things.

For me, I really do love performance, whether it's, like, stage or film.

I think I've always been a theater kid, and I always will be a theater kid, but I also am just, like, really enjoying, you know, things that could be edited and, you know, the editor tells the story kind of thing.

So that's super fun.

With film and things like that.

Yeah, I would say those are the main thing.

Maybe music and, like, performance.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay, cool.

Would you ever do a musical?

I'm sure you've done a musical before.

Have you done a musical before?

I wish I was more of a musical girly.

I want them to put me in musicals, for sure.

They look so fun.

I'm excited to see more musicals.

I think I need to, like, learn more musicals and things like that.

I've only been in one musical, been in the chorus, and that was really fun.

It was, like, a original piece about, like, Pandora's box, and I was, like, a chorus member in that.

But I would love to do musicals.

I'm just.

I'd be getting a little nervous musicals, because they're super athletic.

But I always admire, like, musical theater artists, for sure.

Yeah.

That's pretty cool.

When you look at the.

I know we talked about early on, you know, the Twin Cities scene, the art scene, with, like, black and queer creatives in it.

But what is, like, your vision or your hope for, you know, the art scene here in the Twin Cities?

I just hope everybody just gets to do their wildest, most biggest projects.

Like, I hope people feel like they can always outdo themselves and always surprise themselves in whatever they're doing.

I mean, I think this is a response I would say to anybody in any scene is just like, I just hope you get to do all of the biggest, most brightest, like, craziest ideas of what you would love to do to the fullest extent.

And if you thought it was too crazy, like, let's make it crazier.

I think that's what I will always wish for any artist.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That is pretty cool.

We have some fun rapid fire questions for you.

So rapid fire questions for you to get to know you a little better.

Okay, so the first one is, what are the three songs on your playlist right now?

My gosh.

On my playlist right now, I've been.

Listening to like you most listened to.

Most listen to.

Okay.

I was listening to.

I've been listening to a lot of Leather Park's album.

Even though it was.

It came out in December.

It sounds like a summer album.

So I've been listening to, like, resurrect.

What else have I been listening to?

There's a song called Poker on there that's really good.

I've been trying to listen to some Rico Nasty.

More Rico Nasty.

Who else I've been listening to?

I recently listened to, like, Amare's this album and things like that.

That's not really fun.

Yeah, that's what I would say.

Those are like some top artists that I really enjoy right now.

That's still a little music piece.

What is a song that would get you dancing Once they play, you know.

You know that dancer Raven meme?

When Red Raven starts to dance.

What is your thought?

And it kind of sounds like a Jay Z something like.

It's kind of sounds like a Beyonce Jay Z kind of song.

I was like, yeah, it sounds like it does.

It literally does.

I really like the song Eat by Tayor.

I like Teor.

Pretty cool.

What is a.

What is a meal that feels like home for you?

A meal that feels like home?

Probably some kind of rice.

I am obsessed with rice.

I love rice and stew.

I can eat it for any meal of the day or.

It would have to be my mom's rice and stew, though, with like chicken or fish or something.

But I really like making like a really nice, like one pot chicken, potatoes and like bell peppers, onions, really nice sauce.

Sweet potato to give it to even like a sweeter.

And I just.

Chicken.

It can either be chicken thighs, chicken drumsticks, or chicken quarters.

Just make it all in a one pot.

Put it over rice, like turmeric, basmati rice.

That's my go to.

Okay.

I love me a rice meal in all forms.

Rice and stew.

I will eat your rice for sure.

Okay, thank you.

That sounds delicious.

You know, it's really good.

Fried coconuts.

Village of Malaya.

I love it all.

Gave it all to me.

Give it to me.

Give it to me too.

You know what is One production that you want to be in.

One production that I want to be in?

I don't know.

That's a good question.

Probably one that hasn't even been, like, made yet.

Maybe a production I've made that I would like to be in or something else.

I love Jocelyn Beal.

She's a brilliant, brilliant playwright.

I love her from Ghana.

Yeah, I love her too.

So I would love to be in another show by her.

Seeing Jaja African hair braiding and just loving.

Gorgeous.

The set was in the costume design.

It's just really beautiful.

So it just looks so fun.

I feel like her sets are super fun and her shows are like, they're quick.

You'll be out of there.

It's quick.

You know the story and it's executed well.

It is.

I was like, I do not obsess over people.

I'm sure people would follow me.

Listen to this podcast already.

Know how much I love Jaja.

That's my favorite play.

Yes.

Love it.

Love it to death.

Like, I bought the book.

That's how much I love it.

Oh, my gosh.

Where have you seen it?

I've seen it in Chicago.

I saw it in Chicago.

The Shakespeare Theater.

Yes.

Okay.

So we saw it stay in production.

I saw it in February.

I saw it right before it closed because I was like, there's no way I can't see this one.

Then I saw it in Atlanta also.

I think it was the period.

The true colors.

Yeah, yeah.

So I saw it there as well.

And it's been good on.

But wherever I've seen it, it's been good.

It's doing in la, I think.

Yeah, it's in LA or San Francisco, one of those places.

Right.

In California.

I think I would want to go, but you know, funds are low.

It's okay.

We'll go one day out, literally.

Because I remember my friend was just like, you gotta see this show.

And he saw it in New York.

I was like, okay, let me go to Chicago.

Chicago's a good go to city for me to go see some shows.

Yeah, yeah.

Hopefully Penumbra will put it up or something.

I hope so.

Or something.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Bring it back.

Okay.

And I was gonna ask you to segue in.

Who is.

Who is an artist that you would like to collaborate with?

So we've talked about the show you want to be in.

Is there like an artist you want to collaborate?

Collaborate with?

That's a good question.

I don't know.

I really think about that.

I feel like there's so many good ones Again, like, it's super fun to collab with, like, your friends and family, and I feel like I've been able to do that.

So I would say, I would just.

I would say I would like to collaborate with people again.

I feel like it would be great to, like, try new things with the people that I've already collaborated with.

But no, no, that's a really big question.

Think on that.

Think on that.

Okay.

Okay, cool.

And finally, what is your guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure?

Guilty pleasure, probably just like, consuming lots of, just like podcasts on YouTube and just consuming, like, reality TV and things like that, similar to other people.

What kind of reality TV do you enjoy?

I like the things about, like, families and things like that.

Like, I really was obsessed with, like, the Braxton family values and things like that.

Like, I love seeing sisters and family members together and all the personalities.

But right now I would say I like consuming this one podcast called the Random Order show, and they're just like a bunch of guys from Canada that just makes very funny skits all the time.

And they're just really entertaining sometimes.

To me.

That's pretty cool.

I'll have to check that out.

Is that a Random Order?

Yes, Random Order Podcast.

Okay, I have.

I'll have to check that out for sure.

Okay.

So you've talked about, like, you know, your work, how you started out, your journey, your productions, the productions you want to be in, the ones that you're writing, and the ones that your friends are yet to write that you're going to collaborate with.

But where do you.

Where do you see Ashe Jafaru in the next 10, 15 years?

Where do you want to be?

What do you want to be doing by that time?

Oh, my gosh.

I would really love to keep developing my own work or just keep producing more fun and exciting stories.

It would be great to do, like, multiple fellowships, fellowship programs that just help to fund really fun stories, whether they're short stories, whether they're kind of visuals and short clips and things like that.

When it comes to just film, I can see myself doing a lot more casting and a lot more, producing really fun stories that people will enjoy to see and also writing more.

I would really love to write like a full length play and just like go back to just doing that type of writing too.

I did it in the past, so I'm really excited to do more of that.

Yeah, I definitely just see myself producing and just like having like a really fun company that just does a whole bunch of, like, production, creative direction for like, shoots or Film and performing as well as performing.

Yeah.

And you say that the short film is something that is coming out next year.

Right.

Is that.

Is that the product that.

Is that the project we should be looking forward to right now?

Yes.

I. I want you all to get excited.

It's.

Don't ask me how I'm doing is the name of the film written by Jafaru, my sibling.

And they're based in Chicago, but they came to shoot it here, where we grew up in Minneapolis.

And so it just follows a journey of somebody that is just greeted by their ancestors by the water after having, like, a really, really tough day and a rough day.

And it's super, super cool.

There's choreography.

There's just really great interior shots of somebody getting ready and dealing with the mundane.

And what do you do and how do you problem solve after having, like, a really rough day?

I'm excited.

I'm excited about that and that you're the director of the project.

I got to assist and direct in creative.

Direct.

Okay.

Creative direct.

Okay, cool.

That's exciting.

I really.

Don't ask me how I'm doing.

I feel like that I will relate to that story so bad.

You will too.

I need a visit from my ancestors.

It's been a crazy year, hasn't it been?

Yeah, it's like one of the most testing.

Yeah.

See, every part of me has been tested.

Not every part.

Every single part of me, but, you know.

You know, the universe has got me.

So.

Hey, I think so, but thank you, Ashe.

This was really great conversation.

I'm really excited for you and all the work that you're doing and all the work that is to come.

I'm excited for folks to get to know you better and know your work.

I'm familiar with your creativity because, yeah, it's very.

It's very.

It's very inspirational to see.

So I remember.

I think it's the final act.

No, I don't know.

That's not the final act.

The main act before the last act of maybe you could love me.

Okay.

Yeah.

And y' all were acting your souls out.

It was like.

I was like, is.

This is.

This is amazing.

This is amazing work.

And it shows that you are, like, a student of the craft.

Like, you know your stuff, so well done and, you know, all the best in everything that you do.

Thank you.

What an honor to be here.

And you're so inspiring as well.

So I'm so excited to just see everything you're doing and to keep up with you right here.

I'm excited right here.

Thank you.

Right here.

And for the folks who have been listening or watching, thank you so much for staying with us.

I will share links to Ashe's work or Ashley's Instagram in the description so you can follow and stay connected.

Thank you for watching and listening.

Odejuma.